Defeating Depression-Cures of Hope

“Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning” (Psalm 30:5b). “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” (Psalm 42:5). Perhaps you battle depression, and you see no hope. But there is hope! In the midst of his hardest time, David held on to that hope. He put his hope in God. “I will remember the deeds of the Lord,” the psalmist wrote. “Yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds” (Psalm 77:11-12).

When life overwhelms your spirit and robs your joy, you sink into depression. You might try to call it something else because a Christian is not suppose to be depressed. That is just a lie. Anyone can be depressed. But as a Christian you have great promise of recovery, and His name is Jesus Christ. Admit you are depressed, and confess it to God. The psalmist remembered the days when the Lord blessed him, and days were not so hard. He wrote “To this I will appeal; the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand” (Psalm 77:10). Seek God, and His help. Admit your struggle to someone you trust. Pray privately and then pray with others for His help. “Truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven” (Matthew 18:19).

“You are the God who performs miracles,” the psalmist wrote. “You display your power among the peoples” (Psalm 77:14). When hiding from Saul who wanted to kill him, David felt alone and depressed. But he learned that encouragement made all the difference. He learned to encourage himself. It is hard when you are so down to find hope, but try to concentrate on who God is instead of who you are. Seek someone with the gift of encouragement to help build your hope. Grasp their encouragement with the little strength you possess, and tell the Lord again and again that you need His strength.

“Loneliness breeds depression,” Brother Bill taught on Sunday. Depression isolates. Fight isolation. Make yourself do something for someone else. Give yourself away, and minister to another. “I don't feel like it,” you might say. “There is nothing left in me.” That is your depression. It is your feeling of isolation and depression that holds you in bondage. Feelings cannot be trusted. God can be trusted. His Word is truth. “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ” (Romans 10:17). “By faith do what you need to do, and feelings will come,” Brother Bill said. Persevere and keep believing and acting on your belief. Little by little you will experience freedom from your heaviness and depression. “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised” (Hebrews 10:35-36).

Remember when life was better. You can learn to encourage yourself just as David encouraged himself to rediscover his joy. Joy is not a feeling based on your emotion. Joy is God's strength to raise you up, and carry you through the days of your life. Take care of any physical reason for your depression, and then address the emotional and the spiritual with His help. Place your trust and hope in God, and don't give up. With perseverance you will receive what He has promised.

Depression-Consquences and Causes

This past Sunday morning at Edgewood Church, our pastor, Bill Snow, began a summer teaching series called, “Managing Troublesome Emotions”. His first topic was “Defeating Depression.” He drew his points from Psalm 77:1-15. I'd like to explore this subject, and share some of his insights. I’d also like to encourage you to visit Edgewood during the next few weeks to hear this series.

At some time in your life you will face depression. The consequences of it can rob you of your joy. The psalmist wrote, “I remembered you, God, and I groaned; I meditated, and my spirit grew faint” (Psalm 77:3). With depression you have an overwhelming and defeated spirit. “You kept my eyes from closing; I was too troubled to speak” (Psalm 77:4). With depression you can't sleep or speak. You are too weary to lift yourself up, but from somewhere deep within you remember joy in your life. “I remembered my songs in the night” (Psalm 77:6). In Psalm 42:3-4 David also wrote, “My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, 'Where is your God?' These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng.”

The causes of depression can be many things. It can be a great loss in your life, or bad news or work-related problems. Depression can arise from problems with other people, or problems that overwhelm your spirit. It can arise from a clinical imbalance. Perhaps you have a vitamin deficiency or chemical deficiency where you need a medication. Perhaps your health is not too good. Good health is necessary to defeat depression. A good diet is necessary. Exercise releases endorphins, and endorphins promote good feelings. See your physician, and address these concerns. “Great health is the enemy of depression,” Brother Bill said, “and bad health is the friend of depression.”

“Will the Lord reject forever?” the psalmist continued. “Will he never show his favor again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time? Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion” (Psalm 77:7-9)? When you are robbed of your joy, depression gives you a pessimistic outlook on life. Nothing offers hope or promise. You become introspective, and analyze too much. These verses also reveal something else. Depression happens when you leave God out of your life.

David also wrote in Psalm 42:5, “Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” You can learn to encourage yourself just as David encouraged himself to rediscover his joy. Joy is not a feeling based on emotions. It is God's strength in your life that carries you through hardship and difficulty. Don't despair. If you, just as David, place your trust and hope in God, you will praise Him again. There are cures for depression, and tomorrow we will look at God's promise in defeating depression.

Perfect Love

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18a).

 

It is impossible for love and fear to exist beside each other. It is one or the other. Evil may come against me, but love is the powerful force which defeats it.

There is a human love which can be tormented by fear, but there is a perfect love which conquers fear and trusts in God's faithfulness to overcome all the I face.

The only way to obtain this perfect Love that conquers fear is to have Christ in my heart. If His love is growing in me, I learn more of His perfect love and its ability to conquer my fears. I can only banish my fears with His presence.

I will pray to Him, and think of Him. I will share His love, and dwell on Him instead of my fears. His perfect love and power will rise in my heart until no fear can claim my mind. I will remain strong in His perfect love that casts out fear.

 

I Surrender Me

I must always remember that I am just an instrument. It is not my place to make things happen. God is ultimately in control. What I must do now is work hard to do the work He has called me to do. The things that have hindered me from yielding completely to His will must not hinder me anymore.

Where does this complete surrender begin? It begins in me. I am the only one that I can make surrender. I am the only one that can allow Him to crucify me. I am the only one who can experience the victory of His resurrection through the selflessness of His cross. I must lay down all that I am.... my worries, my burdens, my struggles, my thoughts, my desires, and all of me. I must surrender all of me. It is ridiculous for me to bear my own burden when He has given me the perfect place to lay them down... at His Cross.

If I am to lay all this at His cross, what does it really mean for me to take up His cross and follow Him? The cross that is given to me is the way that I discover how to crucify my own desires. It is only my own self which hinders the flow of His life through me. I come to His cross to lay down my own cross and to find His. It is in this surrender that I discover His power lifting me from the selfishness of my life into His life of peace and joy.

"And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7).

CHOOSE LIFE

“See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess” (Deuteronomy 30:15-16, NIV).

Living a life of good choices is a must. We can either choose life and prosperity or death and destruction. Moses reminds the Hebrews in verse 19 to choose life over death. Choose life or choose death? What sane person would not choose life over death? Many times, though, we don’t see erroneous choices eating away at the fabric of our lives and also of others in our realm of influence. God wishes for us to make good choices in order to receive His blessings and affect others positively. However, He also wishes us to know that bad choices not only harm us, but wreck havoc in the lives of others. 

“It is difficult to always know if I am making a good choice,” you state.

“Now what I am commanding you today,” Moses tells the Hebrews people at Moab, “is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach” (Deuteronomy 30:11). Guess what? It is not out or your reach either, or is it too hard.

“But how is it possible?” you ask.

Moses answer is also an answer for each one of us. It speaks of the best scenario for our lives. “The word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it” (Deuteronomy 30:14). Faith to believe you are capable of continually making good choices comes from hearing the message, and the message is only heard through the word of God (Romans 10:17). The Word can only be alive if you have allowed it to change your heart. It always comes down to a matter of the allegiance of your heart.

Proverbs 16:3 (KJV) reads, “Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.” Where your thoughts are, so is your heart. Sometimes when you are faced with the need to make a decision, you honestly don’t know what God’s will is. But you must make a decision. Commit your decision to the Lord. Ask Him to change it if you make a wrong decision. Believe in His ability to change your decision if it is wrong. If He realizes that the intention of your heart is love for Him, He faithfully honors your prayer. He will anoint your decision or change the circumstances so that His correct decision is made. He will not fail you.

He asks us what we are going to choose. We desire above all else to make Him Lord so that we are blessed and also are a blessing to others. But how? In Deuteronomy 30:16 we discover the means, and then read of His promise if we comply. We are to love the Lord our God with body, mind and spirit. Our hearts should hunger for His righteousness instead of our own desires. This means giving up what we might chose for what He considers best. It is the truth of God’s Word which sets us free and enables us to follow His commandments and walk in His will (John 8:32).

What has God promised you? Just as He wished for the Hebrews to possess the land He had promised them, He wishes you to realize your own promise. Do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised” (Hebrews 10: 35-36). Do you see what this verse reveals? Have confidence in God to direct your choices, and He will reward your confidence! If you know His choices you have discovered His will. When you have done His will, what happens? You receive what He has promised! You have chosen life and prosperity instead death and adversity!

His Love

The love of God clears away the fog of misunderstanding. It explains everything, and makes everything crystal clear. I can't understand God unless I love Him. I can't understand His will for my life unless I love Him. His love for me more than fulfilled the law. It changes my heart so I can understand the reason for it. His sacrifice offers the greatest love so that His word becomes the height and breath my soul can reach. The one who loves is born of God, because he is born into a new life in Christ who is the greatest love. It is my choice to live in that love. And as I live in His love, He prepares my heart and mind to receive the truth of His message. That message softens the hardest of hearts, causes indifference to flee, and opens my heart to desire all of His best in my life.

Forgive

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26).

Have you been hurt by someone close to you? Are you unable to forgive what they have done? Is your heart now as cold as stone? Jesus asks for you to forgive. He waits for your response. He offers hope through conviction. Satan wants you to remain wrapped up in anger and bitterness. He wants your hardened heart to grow even harder. Christ forgave you. Are you willing to offer what He has freely given? Will you actually do as He asks? Make something good come out of what is bad. Turn it around for God’s glory. Open your heart so that another might be healed, and you also may be healed. Allow forgiveness to set you free from the bondage of anger and pain. The Lord will remove that heart of stone, and give you a heart that forgives. Once opened your heart will rejoice in its freedom. Out of your life will flow rivers or living water. You will discover that forgiveness is a mighty work of God which springs eternal in the human heart.

 

A Good Choice

There is something in your life you know is not a good choice. You know the Lord wishes you to make a good decision. You have felt His conviction. Some days His nudge has been more acute. Other days you have willingly shut out His voice.

At this moment you again face the choice. Do you believe that after the choice you will not have the strength to follow it? You are not to have the strength to follow it. He doesn’t expect you to have it. He alone has the strength for you to follow your good choice, and He has the way for you to receive His strength. But you must decide to make that good choice.

DAILY make the choice. DAILY ask for His strength. DAILY understand there is forgiveness if you slip, because He knows you wish to make the good choice (Proverbs 16:3). DAILY commit your choice, your life, your heart, and you shall DAILY receive.

The miracle of His strength is found in your surrender to His will for your life. The Lord who calls you to make good choices is faithful, and will provide ALL you need (I Thessalonians 5:24).

Rest in God

“Rest and know that I am God,” He speaks softly (Isaiah 46:10). “Be at peace knowing that you are completely safe in my grasp.” If I can rest and be still, then I trust Him. Constantly scurrying around trying to take care of my problems is the opposite. It is a lack of trust in His faithfulness. 

“My Hand is not shortened that it cannot save” He reminds me again (Isaiah 59:1). My attempts to save myself are useless. In fact, they get in the way of His ability to help me. Without surrender to His saving Hand, I will sink into the depths of my own despair. My rescuer is with me so why do I fight His attempts to pull me safely to shore? My boat is sinking, and I will sink with it if I do not grasp His hand and step by faith into the tempestuous sea.

Often the struggles of life overwhelm my heart and I feel with the psalmist who wrote "all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me.” (Psalm 42:7). But the same psalmist also wrote, “He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings."(Psalm 40:2).

Consider the wonder of that truth! He is my safety for He rescues me from the pit. He is my security because He sets my feet upon His rock‒solid foundation. He is my guide in all things because He directs the way that I go. This is a beautiful picture of what He wishes to do in me. Save me from that which destroys my heart. Give me security to trust in His faithfulness. Allowing Him to guide me is the proof that I have grown and trusted in Him. I will allow Him to direct my steps. I will not question. I will trust, and be still and rest‒knowing that He alone is my salvation.

I will take His hand, and trust in Him no matter what!

You Belong to Me

Be still and know I am God. I speak very softly. Listen to my voice only. Never allow the voices of the world to deter. Listen and you will never be disappointed. Listen, and anxious thoughts and tired nerves will become rested. I speak rest in tenderness to your turmoil and strife.

My tenderness and the restfulness will heal your scars and make you strong, but it is you who must let me be your strength and your power. You are the greatest concern of my heart. Never fear. I will keep you and guard you always..... if you will never shut me out. Allow me to love you and carry you. I know your pain, and I am the answer. You do not have the answer. Only I have the answer. But until you let it go, and surrender it, there is nothing I can do.

Give it all to me today, and rest in me. Seek me until you find my peace. Allow me to flow through your heart and mind, and heal all that which would tell you that you are unworthy. Never feel at the mercy of the world. You are not. You belong to me.